Hello,
I am hoping some one can give me some insight as to what is going on with me. I am a 22 year old female with no real history of health problems. All my symptoms started a little over a year ago. I have chest pain everyday. It it always under my left breast, sometimes it is in the center, like at the bottom of my breastbone & sometimes it is closer to the far left side of my chest. Sometimes I feel it when I exercise, but I really think that is because I start thinking about it & get worried. My left shoulder & arm seem to always ache also. This really scares me. I feel like I am going to drop dead of a heart attack. Even if my chest is not hurting, it is like I am always aware of my heart. Even if it is not beating hard or anything I just am constantly thinking about it. Also, I can always see my chest moving with my heartbeat. That really scares me. About a year ago when all this started I went to the doctor & they did an ekg, holter monitor & an echocardiogram. The ekg came up abnormal, but I think that was because my heart was beating so fast because I was scared to death. The holter & the echo both came back with good results. The doctor diagnosed me with anxiety. I really don't feel like this is all anxiety/panic though. I have the chest pain all the time, even when I am not anxious at all. Is it possible to have the physical symptoms even when you are not in an anxious state? I think what really scares me is that for a while before all this started I had taken a weight loss drug with ephedra in it for a while. I am so scared that I have damaged my heart some how. I'm also scared that with all the symptoms I am having that the doctors have missed something. I hope that some one can make sense of all this & maybe give me some input. Thanks..

Your heart has been tested extensively for abnormalities; you're fine. These symptoms are actually very common with anxiety/panic disorder. Yes, they can be present when you don't think you are anxious. You are anxious and low level panicing due to the fact that you are always thinking about it and aware of your heartbeats, even when have no symptoms. It is a classic case, and anxiety/panic disorder is very common.

I recommend you see a psychiatrist to treat your disorder, and the symptoms will more than likely resolve themselves.

well
i strongly recommend that you go for an ecg again
and this time take someone with you who will make you relax and don't feel anxious about it as this will give erronous results
once the doctors find out whats wrong with you then they can start effective and right treatment
thanks